From the Left

The left is largely critical of the President’s address, arguing that working with other countries is in our long-term interest.

From the Right

The right is supportive of the President’s focus on American sovereignty.

“By way of introduction, Trump asserted that ‘in less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.’ The audience responded with snorts of laughter... The awkward opening was a revealing moment. Trump had been trying to set a tone of American strength — and was met with skepticism."

“U.S. allies, once willing to follow America’s lead, are increasingly forging their own paths, building new partnerships independent of Washington... [For example] on trade, Canada, the European Union and Japan have all stepped up their cooperation... experts say a stealthy realignment is slowly taking place."

Minority opinion: “The UN itself has allowed its worst members to corrupt it... Trump is half right: The U.S. would be foolish to allow a UN court to sit in judgment of its soldiers. U.S. military action should not be subject to a veto from China, France, Russia or the United Kingdom. But the UN’s structural flaw is not just the threat it poses to the sovereignty of its members. It’s the deference it pays to the sovereignty of rogues."

Bloomberg

From the Right

The right is supportive of the President’s focus on American sovereignty.

“What progressives have dismissed as nationalism and populism... is actually a return to the sovereignty of the democratic nation state. As with other nations, we will decide our laws. We will decide whom to allow to immigrate. We will decide what culture we want. And we will decide our destiny."

Fox News

“This assertion of sovereignty does not entail isolationism. It will frequently require that America engage in robust cooperation with other nations where there are mutual interests... [but] the nations of the world can neither call on the U.S. to solve every problem, hence Trump's insistence upon NATO nations beefing up their military spending and avoiding dependency on Russia, and nor can they use unaccountable bureaucracy by needling us with spurious prosecutions in the International Criminal Court."

Washington Examiner

Regarding Iran, Trump “noted the corrupt nature of Iran’s leaders, speaking to the Iranian people themselves, detailing how their leaders have pilfered the nation’s vast wealth, many times for their own purposes and to destabilize the Middle East. Trump made it clear in his remarks that if Tehran wants [to] act like a rogue nation... he will press forward with sanctions that aim to cripple their economy."